This case study explains how Ritani, a high-end jewellery brand in the US, used research to understand and improve its advertising effectiveness in the long purchase cycle of engagement rings. View Summary

This case study explains how Ritani, a high-end jewellery brand in the US, used research to understand and improve its advertising effectiveness in the long purchase cycle of engagement rings.

As one of life's most important and expensive purchases, engagement rings have a long purchase cycle, with some unique needs around education and support for the purchaser.

Ritani takes the experience of buying a diamond ring one step further by offering free in-store previews which allow clients to view rings and speak to the jeweller before committing to purchase.

Because of the unique challenges in terms of length of purchase cycle and difficulty of measuring ad effectiveness, Ritani sought a scientific approach to its marketing campaign.

Doing so meant the resulting campaign grew revenue by 400% from 2013 to 2014 and achieve a 450% return on investment.

Marisa is a female fashion brand with an emphasis on lingerie, its bestselling product, but with nearly 100% of Marisa's customers being women, it needed to bring men closer to the brand as a good option for gifts.

The first step was to present the lingerie brand to men, but with irreverence, in male-dominated media, creating 'Strip Commerce', a photo essay connected to Marisa's e-commerce, a play on a Playboy magazine editorial in which the models wear Marisa's lingerie pieces - but to see the models naked readers needed to buy the lingerie they were wearing.

When the lingerie was bought, the models would be undressed and the reader would receive the lingerie at home.

Strip Commerce was the most-clicked piece both of the Playboy edition and also in Marisa ad history, and with a single mobile ad Marisa achieved millions of PR impressions and hundreds of intentions to buy on its lingerie pieces.

4

ONLY: Our basket is full - how emotional storytelling in the digital space drove commercial success

This case study demonstrates how ONLY, the international fashion brand from Denmark, used an interactive online film to reverse declining sales and reconnect with fashion shoppers. View Summary

This case study demonstrates how ONLY, the international fashion brand from Denmark, used an interactive online film to reverse declining sales and reconnect with fashion shoppers.

In 2009 ONLY saw its first-ever drop in total sales, caused by a combination of competition from fast-fashion brands and a loss of focus as its range had expanded.

In an effort to re-engage with consumers, ONLY created an immersive and interactive film to also act as a fashion catalogue.

15 million people across Europe engaged with the experience and annual online sales increased by just under 300% in 2012, while offline sales grew by 14.3%, and the campaign is estimated to have yielded a revenue ROMI of 53.8.

5

Mizuno: What if everyone ran?

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Jay Chiat Strategic Excellence Awards, Honorable Mention, 2014

This case study explains how Mizuno, a sportswear and equipment brand, took a new approach to the running category in the US to increase brand familiarity. View Summary

This case study explains how Mizuno, a sportswear and equipment brand, took a new approach to the running category in the US to increase brand familiarity.

Mizuno is little-known in the US, where the running market dominated by large brands.

The market leaders focus on the individual benefits of running, so Mizuno decided to take a new approach by talking about how running benefits everyone.

The positive impact of running was communicated by imagining a world where everyone ran, extrapolating findings on the physical, mental, emotional and economic benefits of running to the whole population.

Both poignant and light-hearted findings appeared on posters and infographics online, starting a fresh discussion about running across several platforms; a follow-up charity initiative invited people to 'run with Mizuno' and donate to a charity for every mile.

Mizuno gained significant earned media coverage and engagement with its imagination of a world where everyone runs; similarly, over 5,000 people 'ran with Mizuno' for over 30,000 miles.

6

Nike: Locker room

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MMA Smarties, Gold, MMA Smarties, 2014

This case study describes how Nike connected with true sneaker enthusiasts in Hong Kong, using a mobile solution to place its products directly in the hands of the true target market. View Summary

This case study describes how Nike connected with true sneaker enthusiasts in Hong Kong, using a mobile solution to place its products directly in the hands of the true target market.

Sneakers are hot property in Hong Kong, meaning that shoe speculators are present at every Nike product launch, intent on securing the latest special Nike products to sell on at a higher price.

Nike needed to create a channel dedicated to connecting with and recruiting true Nike enthusiasts in Hong Kong, capturing these highly mobile enthusiasts while they were out being active and participating in sporting events.

It devised a mobile Locker Room, an online space where it could brief its team of brand fans as to where they could get all the latest information on Nike products and initiatives.

It dramatically increased Nike.com traffic from Hong Kong and secured multiple engagements from 40% of participants; most importantly, sneaker speculators are a thing of the past, ensuring Nike remains an aspirational and inspiring brand.

7

Old Navy: Tweet for your feet

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MMA Smarties, Silver, MMA Smarties, 2014

This case study describes how US clothing and accessories retailer Old Navy used a buzz-generating social media stunt to build awareness around its annual $1 Flip Flop Sale. View Summary

This case study describes how US clothing and accessories retailer Old Navy used a buzz-generating social media stunt to build awareness around its annual $1 Flip Flop Sale.

Old Navy wanted to attract new consumers to its annual $1 Flip Flop event, while boosting sales across all product categories during the one-day promotion.

The campaign was based on the use of consumers' mobile devices and social currency, while driving trial in unexpected places.

Tweet for Your Feet is the most successful Old Navy social media campaign to date; 9,000 pairs of flip flops were distributed, representing 9,000 unique tweets that tagged Old Navy; and for the first time since the promotion's inception seven years ago the brand saw a lift in sales across all product categories.

This case study explains how Adidas, the sportswear brand, launched its first-ever local campaign targeting Chinese women by focussing on 'sisterhood'. View Summary

This case study explains how Adidas, the sportswear brand, launched its first-ever local campaign targeting Chinese women by focussing on 'sisterhood'.

Although girls participate in sports while in school, their participation drops once they enter the job market.

The campaign instilled a spirit of sport in Chinese girls - encouraging them to take up sport for life - by emphasising sisterhood, benefits of sport and the range of sports available.

Ads featured real groups of women who did various sports together, showing what motivated them and what they got out of their participation.

Results included increases in women's sports participation, improved brand metrics and business growth.

9

Nike: Hacking Jakarta for running

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Lindsey Cummings, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Bronze, 2014

This case study describes how Nike made street running easier for Indonesian youth by facilitating their nonconformist spirit in a social media campaign. View Summary

This case study describes how Nike made street running easier for Indonesian youth by facilitating their nonconformist spirit in a social media campaign.

Nike's 'Just Do It' is one of the world's most famous brand ideas but it never fully landed in Indonesia, one of Asia's key growth markets.

As Nike prepared to recruit participants for their next WeRun 10 km event, it needed to create relevance around the Just Do It philosophy and demonstrate the innovative nature of the company by making running easier for the people of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

It focused on a disenfranchised part of Jakartan society - its youth - and took their hacker spirit and applied it to running.

Nike hacked Jakarta for running, showing people in the city how they could overcome the barriers to running by using a few innovative approaches, orchestrated round the uniting call to action of #BAJAKJKT.

With no traditional media spend, Nike created one of the most successful social campaigns in Indonesia to date and had a record attendance turning out to take back their city during the #BAJAKJKT WeRun 10 km race.

This case study explains how Tanishq, the jewellery brand, challenged prejudice against remarriage in India.

Weddings in India are celebrated lavishly and as gold jewellery holds special significance, the 'wedding season' is a big occasion for jewellers in India.

Tanishq aimed to increase growth in brand metrics and sales of its wedding collection and it found its opportunity in remarriage, which carries social stigma in India and is conducted with as little celebration as possible.

To convey the message of a traditional brand with a socially progressive perspective, Tanishq created the Remarriage film story, which showed a mother getting remarried but looking as beautiful and joyful as a first-time bride.

Brand equity metrics all showed growth and sales also grew in two key jewellery segments.

11

Domyos: Tai-chip-hop

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Marie-Julie Lorenzo , Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study explains how Domyos, a French fitness brand, launched in China on a platform of an international brand that respected Chinese values. View Summary

This case study explains how Domyos, a French fitness brand, launched in China on a platform of an international brand that respected Chinese values.

In China, Domyos faced an immediate challenge as France is not seen as a country of sports, even less of fitness.

So instead of pushing fitness rules, the brand introduced a tailor-made sport for Chinese people, by combining tai-chi-chuan with hip-hop, naming it 'Tai-Chip-Hop'.

Tai-Chip-Hop was promoted through a video star introducing the moves, which inspired many parodies, a giant training area in Shanghai, an initiation tour in China and an online platform with tips to learn.

During seven weeks of orchestration, Domyos sales went up by over 80% and 480m netizens followed the Tai-Chip-Hop story on Chinese social-media site Weibo.

This case study describes how Tanishq, the Indian jewellery brand, leveraged Diwali despite the economic downturn.

The economic downturn of 2012 threatened to dampen the Diwali spirit as consumers drastically cut down on discretionary spending, despite traditionally investing in gold at this time.

To brighten the mood, Tanishq sought to reinforce traditional values by combining the 'good investment' virtue of gold with the spirit of giving during Diwali through a television and print campaign.

Although gold prices increased over the previous year, Tanishq increased footfall by 12% and recorded its highest sales during any Diwali period.

13

Qeelin: Baby Qilin

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Marie-Julie Lorenzo , Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study describes how Qeelin, a high-end jewellery brand and part of the French group Kering, built awareness in China. View Summary

This case study describes how Qeelin, a high-end jewellery brand and part of the French group Kering, built awareness in China.

To achieve this, the brand launched a campaign based around the Qilin - a mythical animal - aiming to convince the audience that the animal really existed.

The Qilin has been a legend in China for a thousand years, but had only ever been found on the front of temples or in traditional paintings - nobody had ever seen a living Qilin before.

A puppet baby Qilin was created and its image integrated into old Chinese photographs, as well as a vintage-style video; this material was then sent to influencers on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat to let them spread the news that the Qilin just might really exist.

The hashtag for the campaign, #babyqilin, became the most-discussed topic on Weibo for two days, after the posting of the '˜first pictures' and the video, ultimately generating 35m views.

14

Vicomte A.: Social striptease

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Marie-Julie Lorenzo , Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study explains how Vicomte A, a fashion brand, used Facebook to reach a female audience in China. View Summary

This case study explains how Vicomte A, a fashion brand, used Facebook to reach a female audience in China.

Vicomte A had low awareness among women so it used it's predominantly male customer base to promote and share its women's collection on Facebook.

A campaign site was created, offering users the chance to 'undress' a sexy model by clicking on her (or his) clothes.

The item of clothing would then appear on the Facebook timeline as a link to the Victomte A e-commerce site.

Hence timelines were transformed into free advertising space.

The campaign generated earned PR and within 48 hours, more than 150,000 pieces of clothing were shared on Facebook.

The brand's Facebook likes increased by more than 140%, and traffic on the e-commerce website was multiplied by five during the campaign.

15

Tanishq: Solitaires

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S Subramanyeswar, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study explains how Tanishq, the Indian jeweller, grew sales for its diamond solitaire jewellery by extending its significance beyond marriage engagements. View Summary

This case study explains how Tanishq, the Indian jeweller, grew sales for its diamond solitaire jewellery by extending its significance beyond marriage engagements.

The diamond market is a profitable sector for jewellers but Tanishq has less than a 1% share.

Indian consumers saw diamond solitaires as exclusive, only affordable by the affluent and its use constricted to engagement rings.

The 'One Love' campaign sought to recast diamonds as a symbol of long-term love and commitment, and employed a creative film that showcased solitaires as a tenth anniversary gift.

When the campaign aired, Tanishq Solitaires registered a 53% spike in sales, which continued to grow post-campaign and nearly 87% of sales came from people over the age of 30.

16

Enamor: Changing the category codes of the entire Indian unorganised lingerie market

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Suchitra Sukumar, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study explains how lingerie brand Enamor found a middle ground in India market by focussing on women with a positive message. View Summary

This case study explains how lingerie brand Enamor found a middle ground in India market by focussing on women with a positive message.

The Indian market for lingerie is a strongly binary one, with seemingly no middle ground, with products either seen as 'comfortable & modest' or 'tools for seduction'.

Research showed that the consumer was gaining curiosity about underwear and that this was the fallout of her general growing interest in apparel, but discussing lingerie by itself was still a taboo.

In response, rather than focusing on the bra (the product), the 'Fabulous as I am' campaign message sought to change the focus onto the woman who wore the bra.

Sales increased by almost 30%, with brand salience, consideration and preference metrics all increasing.

17

Diesel: Erotica

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Marie-Julie Lorenzo , Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2014

This case study describes how Diesel, the fashion brand, used a controversial campaign for its Erotica collection to create interest in China. View Summary

This case study describes how Diesel, the fashion brand, used a controversial campaign for its Erotica collection to create interest in China.

China has a strict approach to pornography, banning it from all sources but there are still ways for users to find it online.

Provocative videos and images for the Diesel Erotica collection were disguised as Italian pornography and compressed into one zip file that was given an erotic name, which was uploaded online via bit-torrent.

The file was promoted on porn channels and a well-known fashion-industry key opinion leader 'accidentally' shared it on social media.

This viral tactic resulted in more than 73,000 downloads of the campaign pictures and videos.

This case study describes how BONDS, an Australian underwear brand, launched a new range of bras with a temporary brand re-naming. View Summary

This case study describes how BONDS, an Australian underwear brand, launched a new range of bras with a temporary brand re-naming.

The brand faced poor consumer perceptions following the movement of its manufacturing to China, low consideration scores, quality concerns and the idea that it was only for younger people.

The campaign ran in four phases: engaging with retailers, launching the BOOBS renaming in outdoor ads, linking this to BONDS by changing the name across all formats, and once attention had been captured, showcasing the full range of products on offer for every woman.

By appealing to Australian's playful nature, the brand achieved 83% growth in retail stock order over five months with $4 million in earned media impressions and growth in awareness.

19

Depend: Guard your manhood

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Effie Worldwide, Bronze, North America Effies 2014

This case study demonstrates how Depend, maker of disposable anti-incontinence wear, built awareness of its products among men in the US. View Summary

This case study demonstrates how Depend, maker of disposable anti-incontinence wear, built awareness of its products among men in the US.

Of the 4 million American men who suffer from incontinence, 80% choose to either do nothing about it or use toilet paper, while a large proportion of the other 20% used feminine products in order to avoid shame at the checkout.

Depend renovated an existing product - Guards - and created a new one - Shields - designed specifically for men with light incontinence and packaged as 'for men'.

Tony Siragusa, American football player and commentator, fronted the campaign with a straight-forward, masculine and funny approach to remove the emasculating stigma from purchasing Depend.

The category grew 23% in four months, with the majority of the growth attributed to Depend.

20

HanesBrands: Undercover color - dare to share

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Effie Worldwide, Bronze, North America Effies 2014

This case study describes how Hanes, an American underwear brand, changed the perceptions held by millennial women that the brand was outdated and unfashionable. View Summary

This case study describes how Hanes, an American underwear brand, changed the perceptions held by millennial women that the brand was outdated and unfashionable.

Hanes is the leading apparel brand in America but did not have the same equity lead in women's categories that it did in men's underwear, and was seen as providing comfort but not style.

Research showed that millennial women approached their underwear in the same way as outerwear, a direct reflection of their personalities, and had no problem with sharing personal information, even on commonly taboo topics.

Hanes asked women to share their 'Undercover Color' on Twitter - what color underwear they were wearing - and an interactive and dynamic ad banner updated with the results.

The discussion was accompanied by bright, colorful product shots and partnerships with women's magazines.

Post-campaign data showed that Hanes grew in relevance, purchase intent and as a brand the target would recommend.

21

Cole Haan: #dontgohome

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Effie Worldwide, Gold, North America Effies 2014

This case study describes how Cole Haan, a shoe retailer, used an innovative, night-time out-of-home campaign during New York Fashion Week to target fashion conscious consumers aged 24-45 and reposition its brand. View Summary

This case study describes how Cole Haan, a shoe retailer, used an innovative, night-time out-of-home campaign during New York Fashion Week to target fashion conscious consumers aged 24-45 and reposition its brand.

The brand had a reputation for comfortable, classic brown shoes which appealed to older consumers, but wanted to attract younger consumers.

This campaign targeted 24-45 (core 30-35) year old fashion-savvy creative professionals with a more contemporary new shoe style and a 'stay up all night' message.

It was launched during the city's fashion week with ads placed on storefront rolling gates - a media only visible at night.

This case study explains how ONLY, the fashion retailer, reversed declining sales in Europe with an interactive content-led campaign.

The creative solution it developed was an online interactive film experience called 'The Liberation', which was to be a fashion catalogue, movie, game, music video, and an on-demand video retail environment.

The project successfully managed to leverage digital, film, social media and e-commerce to create a campaign that substantially lifted the products sold via ONLY's e-commerce platform.

As a result, the brand experienced a significant increase in total sales of 14.3% and an increase in basket size for the first time in several years, helping to establish a new period of growth.

24

Mizuno Running: The Mezamashii Run Project

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Walt Barron and Swapnil Patel, Warc Prize for Social Strategy, Gold and Special Award for Social Business, 2014

This case study demonstrates how Mizuno, a running shoe brand in the US, with a limited media budget, set out to convince runners to give their running shoes a chance. View Summary

This case study demonstrates how Mizuno, a running shoe brand in the US, with a limited media budget, set out to convince runners to give their running shoes a chance.

This category experiences high brand loyalty, making it difficult to increase market share.

Mizuno's trial experience was reinvented to allow potential customers to try running in the shoes.

The campaign ran in three phases, starting with the targeting of bloggers and other influencers with sample shoes, expanding with online ads, and continued with partnerships that kept people engaged.

The campaign achieved strong online engagement and interaction, and led to the brand's most successful sales year.

This case study describes how Sport Chek, the Canadian sports retailer, repositioned its brand as an authority on sports to avoid a price war, in a Mother's Day campaign. View Summary

This case study describes how Sport Chek, the Canadian sports retailer, repositioned its brand as an authority on sports to avoid a price war, in a Mother's Day campaign.

The company was finding challenges in a changing retail environment, including the problems of 'showrooming' and online retail competition, and Canadians travelling to the US to purchase.

This was leading to a retail 'war' based on price and convenience, which the company wanted to avoid.

This campaign sought to establish the brand as an authority on sports, providing inspiration for self-improvement and practical advice.

Research found that around Mother's Day people were buying gifts not just for their mothers, but for a range of women in their lives.

The campaign created an authentic message based on the emotional bonds that some families have built through encouraging sports, focussing on the role of mothers in supporting their kids, featuring an Olympic hockey player and explained how her mother had supported her.

The campaign led to a 26% for week 14 and 32% for week 15 spike in sales, around Mother's Day.